The Creux du Van is a natural rocky cirque

Cirque

Cirque may refer to:* Cirque, a geological formation* Makhtesh, an erosional landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and Sinai of Egypt*Cirque , an album by Biosphere* Cirque Corporation, a company that makes touchpads...

 of approximately 1,400 metres of width and 150 metres of depth. It is located in the Val de Travers

Val-de-Travers (district)

Val-de-Travers District is a district in the canton of Neuchâtel, in Switzerland. It is famous for its clock industry. It is also famous for being the historical birthplace of absinthe which is now once again being distilled in the region...

 district, in the canton of Neuchâtel

Canton of Neuchâtel

Neuchâtel is a canton of French speaking western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. A very well known, amphitheatre-shaped natural attraction of the area, it is located at the heart of a nature reservation area of 15.5 km².

Geology

It was created by natural water erosion from a local glacier that was linked to the Rhone glacier

Rhône Glacier

The Rhone Glacier, or sometimes Rhône Glacier is a glacier in the Swiss Alps and the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the Swiss canton of Valais...

, causing land slides of a semi-circular shape.

Attraction

Ibex were introduced in the area in 1965. , there are 17 and they can easily be watched.

On foot

• Le sentier des quatorze contours (the path of the 14 bends) is a reputed itinerary that starts in Noiraigue
  Noiraigue
  Noiraigue was a municipality in the district of Val-de-Travers in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2009, the former municipalities of Boveresse, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Les Bayards, Môtiers, Noiraigue, Saint-Sulpice and Travers merged to form Val-de-Travers....
  
   (Val-de-Travers
  Val-de-Travers
  Val-de-Travers is a municipality in the district of Val-de-Travers in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It was created on 1 January 2009, when the former municipalities of Boveresse, Buttes, Couvet, Fleurier, Les Bayards, Môtiers, Noiraigue, Saint-Sulpice and Travers merged to form...
  
  ).
• Le sentier du Single leads to the summit directly from the area called La ferme Robert.
• Other paths, however unmarked, allow the access to the summit via la crête du Dos d'Ane or also from la Fontaine Froide via le Pertuis de Bise (a breach into the wall of rocks).

By car

Parking is available at la ferme du Soliat, 5 minutes walk away from the summit of the rocky cirque. Access is from Saint-Aubin-Sauges

Saint-Aubin-Sauges

Saint-Aubin-Sauges is a municipality in the district of Boudry in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.-History:Saint-Aubin-Sauges is first mentioned in 1176 as Sancti Albini. In 1340 it was mentioned as villa de Sauges.-Geography:...

, community on the Neuchâtel litoral, or from Couvet

Couvet

Couvet was a municipality in the district of Val-de-Travers in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is claimed that Couvet was the birthplace of absinthe at the end of the 18th century and it is now the home of La Clandestine Absinthe. It was also the home to Edouard Dubied & Co...

, Val-de-Travers.
One can also allow for some hiking by leaving the car in the first parking lot located on the road out of Couvet in direction of St. Aubin, toward the Creux-du-Van. Some hiking paths are indicated, via les petites Fauconnières.